Strong as stone, colorful as plastic, easy to polish like wood. And much more. antoniolupi, in its creative workshop in the green hills of Cerreto Guidi, has created a new material, forged by innovation and research: we’re talking about Cristalmood. Technically it is a transparent colored resin, with a glossy finish, composed of high-quality polyester resin and coloring pigments. In practice, it is a high-performance material that stands up to corrosion, can be cleaned with ordinary detergents, resists alcohol and acetone (as well as oils, benzene or diesel fuel). Above all, it is incredibly light: thanks to its composition, objects in Cristalmood weigh about 30% less than those made with other solid surface materials. It comes in 13 colors, now joined by the new Ceruleo, Oleo and Gran Cru tones.
The company’s talent for creating advanced solutions, in terms of design, technology and forms, has led to another proving ground. But the innovative character of Cristalmood, based on its composition, is then joined by the other side of antoniolupi, that of craftsmanship, which leaves striking traces on the final results. The working process of the material is entirely manual: the resin is poured by hand into molds, and the products that emerge are finished and polished by hand to eliminate all flaws, inside and outside. Expert artisans complete the products, treated like the sculptures of Michelangelo, where the material is sculpted to release its intrinsic design potential. With this artistic approach, items made in Cristalmood are thus unique and unrepeatable, with chromatic shadings, slight differences of thickness or size that bring authenticity and style. The ductile nature of the material is placed at the service of the creativity of the designers of antoniolupi, who exploit its versatility and virtues to generate a range of variegated, colorful collections for the bath environment.
Reflex: the purity of form
An ode to organic forms and the concept of harmony in the bathroom: the Reflex model designed by AL Studio is the first transparent bathtub produced in Cristalmood. The potential of the material permits the creation of rainbows in the room that reflect on the curved borders of the tub, with their sinuous design that makes them seem soft to the touch. The different hues elegantly smooth the sculptural volumes, generating iridescent and chiaroscuro effects, depending on the angle of the light.
A sculptural look for freestanding washbasins
The ease of shaping of Cristalmood in the liquid state, almost a contradiction with the material’s final hardness, makes it possible to generate a wide range of forms and compositions that stand out in the space like modern, colorful sculptures.
This is what happens in the freestanding washbasins, by nature separate from any architectural context, and thus emphasized in their solidity of character. Many different creations are offered by antoniolupi. The latest – a new development for 2020 – is the duo Aura and Astro designed by Marco Piva: two Cristalmood monoliths that conceal their intrinsic lightness, which is reveals thanks to backlighting of the base; the rigorous lines are balanced by the soft profile of the basin, rounded in one model and more irregular in the other.
Along the same stylistic lines, Opale (designed by Carlo Colombo and Andrea Lupi) lets itself be guided by the geometric form of the basin (an unusual decagon or a traditional round form) and the column (it too cylindrical or prismatic); the reflections of the Cristalmood basin are amplified in tandem with the marble column, for an effect of contrast with an opaque volume of great elegance.
Aura by antoniolupi
Design Marco Piva
Astro by antoniolupi
Design Marco Piva
Opale by antoniolupi
Design Carlo Colombo & Andrea Lupi
While Opale calls for two separate and superimposed parts, its evolution is Vitreo, created from a single block of Cristalmood: designed by Carlo Colombo and Andrea Lupi, the characteristic decagonal form permits the large basin to enhance the primordial element of water. The poetics of opposites, on the other hand, finds fulfillment in Albume (designed by Carlo Colombo), which is the result of stacking of different geometric forms, between the base (also made in marble) and the basin (available in two forms, one slimmer, the other softer and more seductive).
Ago3 by antoniolupi – Design Mario Ferrarini
Design synthesis
A sum of experience in a single product of compact size. This is the impact of Ago3, the countertop washbasin designed by Mario Ferrarini, originally in Flumood and now reissued in Cristalmood resin. Its apparent simplicity is enhanced by the transparency of the material, emphasizing the small thickness and the very original form produced by the combination of rigorous lines and soft curves: the volume tapers towards the oval base to form a spacious, deep basin.
From design to decoration
Infinite potential, unexpected results. The duo Calvi Brambilla has taken advantage of the virtues of Cristalmood to create a collection of vases: three different forms, three interpretations of the theme that speak the same language. Asa, Nisi and Masa reference familiar everyday objects, thanks to essential archetypal forms, sharing a cylindrical shape but with different heights in the three models.
